The Świętokrzyskie mountains are one of the oldest on our planet, with beautiful caves, e.g. Cave Raj, and numerous fossils. Świętokrzyskie is also one of the culturally oldest parts of Poland with its center in Wiślica. In the early Middle Ages Świętokrzyskie was part of Małopolskie which was the major part of Poland after the Polish capital was moved from Gniezno to Kraków in 1040. When in 1138 the Seniorat of Poland was formed, nowerdays Świętokrzyskie was a duchy with the capital in Sandomierz, but soon was again reunited with Małopolskie and subsequently bacame part of the Kingdom of Poland in the beginning of the 14th century. Great castles and palaces were built in this region during the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and Sandomierz was one of the richest cities due to the Vistula trade route. After the Third Partition of Poland in 1795 most of its territory was annexed by Austria, but became independent as part of the Duchy of Warsaw between 1807-1815. After the Congress of Vienna it became part of the Kingdom of Poland, ruled by the Russian Tsar. After World War I Świętokrzyskie became part of the Second Polish Republic, but was occupied by Nazi-Germany between 1939 and 1944, when it was part of the German Generalgovernement. After World War II it again became part of Poland.